Nursing Garment with magnetic opening/closure

ABSTRACT

This nursing garment of the present invention in a way that others will not know that the mother is wearing clothing accessible for nursing. This has been done by using a magnetic closure on the strap of the garment. It can be utilized in a variety of ways by using different sizes and shaped magnets. The magnets can be placed either on the front of the garment, on the shoulder of the garment, or over the shoulder of the garment. The size, shape, and placement of the magnet can vary depending upon the style (for example-formal dress, tank top, maxi dress etc.) of the garment.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

3,296,627 January 1967 Beard 5,182,813 February 1993 Booze D382687August 1997 Schaffner 6,854,132 February 2005 Polzin D577877 October2008 Saincome-Vawter D595934 July 2009 Senior-Bundrick D638196 May 2011Torres D644003 August 2011 Hendrickson 8,469,769 June 2013 Hendrickson8,926,398 January 2015 Mendeleev D731744 June 2015 Coburn D733401 July2015 Coburn 2007/0124845 June 2007 McCoy 2008/0172771 July 2008 Adamson2008/0276346 November 2008 Thunstedt D849,368 May 2019 Ellis D547,927August 2007 Booth D736,499 August 2015 Byrd 4,660,227 April 1987Abramson 4,446,572 May 1984 Lindquist 4,106,122 August 1978 DoddD851,865 June 2019 Burk D833,114 November 2018 Dickson 10,448,687October 2019 Branan 2,319,292 May 1943 Boggs 2,389,298 November 1945Ellis 4,249,267 February 1981 Voss 6,378,174 April 2002 Wong 7,806,309October 2010 Korchmar 9,210,953 December 2015 Horton 9,572,386 February2017 Scheer 10,342,299 July 2019 Reiter 2002/0178551 December 2002 Hsu2003/0019008 January 2003 Prather D664,738 August 2012 Friberg2014/0130228 May 2014 Horton

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is a very limited history on nursing clothing. Nursing-specificwear is still relatively new to the market but is the next big step forwomen's fashion. The World Health Organization now recommends that allmothers breastfeed their children until age two, and more and more womenin the United States are breastfeeding exclusively. In 2013 thepercentage of mothers in the United States who breastfed their babieswas 81%. Fashion has not truly caught up to what nursing mothers needand want. Every nursing item currently on the market either iscombination maternity and nursing or has a typical nursing clothingappearance.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,469,769 discloses a nursing garment wherein a built-inbra is detachable by the use of nursing clips to connect a built-in brato shoulder straps, wherein the built-in bra is detachable from eitherone of the shoulder straps in preparation for nursing. While this clipdown access clip is functional, it cannot be used with fabric typical ofmost women's clothing and only allows for a thin strap. Use of a cliplike this also makes it obvious that the garment is a nursing garment.

U.S. Pat. No. D851,865 features zipper opening under both arms. This maybe functional for breastfeeding while not being obvious, it is notnecessarily practical as closing a side zipper while holding an infantcan be difficult.

U.S. Pat. No. D736,499 uses camouflaged flaps as an opening but it isnot always practical for every item of clothing.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,132 This shirt has the typical lift up access foundin nursing wear.

U.S. Pat. No. D664,738 has the typical cross body/lift up access layeredlook that is typical on the market today, and what most women think ofwhen they think of nursing clothing.

Modern women would like to wear the type of clothing that is in theirpre-pregnancy closet while still being able to feed their child easily.This means a variety of styles including dresses, rompers, long sleeveblouses, swimwear and active wear with a discrete site of closure foropening the garment to breastfeed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This nursing garment is designed in a way that others will not know thatthe mother is wearing clothing accessible for nursing. This has beendone by using a magnetic closure on the strap of the garment. It can beutilized in a variety of ways by using different sizes and shapedmagnets. The magnets can be placed either on the front of the garment,on the shoulder of the garment, or over the shoulder of the garment. Thesize, shape, and placement of the magnet can vary depending upon thestyle (for example-formal dress, tank top, maxi dress etc.) of thegarment.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a nursing garmentthat may take on any one of countless attractive styles and be embodiedin any number of different types of wearing apparel without inhibitingthe freedom of the woman to nurse as frequently as may be required.

The magnet is easy to camouflage because it is sewn into the inner layerof the garment allowing the garment to not look like the typical nursinggarment. The magnetic closure allows the mother to drop a strap down oneither side of her torso to easily to feed her child.

The magnetic closure allows the mother to nurse her child withoutpulling up or pulling down the entire front of the garment but by usinga drop-down closure method.

It is another object of the invention to incorporate a functionality tothe garment while still allowing the mother to wear fashion forward,aesthetically pleasing clothing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the drop-down magnet closure open withthe breast exposed in a maxi dress with the closure located at thecollarbone.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the drop-down magnet closureclosed in a maxi dress with the closure located at the collarbone.

FIG. 3 is a back perspective view of the drop-down magnet closure closedin a maxi dress with the closure located at the collarbone.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the drop-down magnet closure open withone breast exposed for access in a tank top with the closure locatedjust over the shoulder.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the drop-down magnet closure open onboth sides with one breast exposed for access in a tank top with theclosure located just over the shoulder.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the drop-down magnet closureclosed in a tank top with the closure located just over the shoulder.

FIG. 7 is a back perspective view of the drop-down magnet closure closedin a tank top with the closure located just over the shoulder.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the drop-down magnet closure open withthe breast exposed in an “A-line” dress with the closure located overthe shoulder

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the drop-down magnet closureclosed in an “A-line” dress with the closure located over the shoulder.

FIG. 10 is a back perspective view of the drop-down magnet closureclosed in an “A-line” dress with the closure located over the shoulder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a nursing garment closure as shown inthe maxi dress illustrated in FIG. 1. The magnetic closure (1) iscomprised of two parts, the positive side (4) and the negative side (5)and is sewn into a pocket at the seam (12). The magnetic clasp (1) whenunclasped allows the front panel of the garment to be dropped down (6)to allow the breast (17) to be accessed for breastfeeding. The dress(19) stays on the wearer when the front panel is lowered because themodesty panel (9) attached to the shoulder strap (10) as well as theside seam (14). The neckline of the modesty panel (23) is slightly lowerthan the neckline of the front panel (15) to allow the modesty panel toremain unseen when the front panel of the garment is attached asdepicted in FIG. 2 (16). The hidden modesty panel (7) ends right at orjust above the under bust seam (18). From the back as shown in FIG. 3,looks much as any normal maxi dress would, as is the goal of themagnetic clasp.

In some instances the magnetic closure is located at or over theshoulder, as shown in FIG. 4. The magnetic closure (1) is comprised oftwo parts, the positive side (4) and the negative side (5). The magneticclasp (1) when unclasped allows the front panel of the garment to bedropped down on one side (8) to allow the breast (17) to be accessed forbreastfeeding. The image would be mirrored with the opposite sidedropped down. The magnets may be placed with the positive sides on thedrop down straps (4) and the negative side (5) over the shoulder asshown in FIG. 4, or in reversing polarity as depicted in FIG. 5. Theshirt (20) stays on the wearer when the front panel is lowered on oneside or on both as depicted in FIG. 5 because the modesty panel (9)attached to the shoulder strap (10) as well as the side seam (14). Themodesty panel (9) extends from the lowered neckline (23), to just belowthe bust. The neckline of the modesty panel (23) is slightly lower thanthe neckline of the front panel (15) to allow the modesty panel toremain unseen when the front panel of the garment is attached asdepicted in FIG. 6 (16). From the back as shown in FIG. 7, the garmentlooks much as any normal tank would, as is the goal of the magneticclasp. and is sewn into a pocket at the seam (12

FIG. 8 illustrates the magnetic drop down panel (6) in a A line dress(19). The magnets are still sewn in a panel (12) and are located justover the shoulder in this illustration. The inner modesty panel in thisgarment is fixed (22) with cutouts for the breasts to be accessed (17).The fixed panel is stitched to the lower part of the dress at the seamunder the bust (18). The neckline of the fixed modesty panel (23) isstill lower than the neckline (15) of the outer front drop down panel ofthe garment (6) as it is in the other garments. The fixed modesty panelhas a strap (10) that is thinner than the front panel strap so that itcannot be seen when the panel is up as illustrated in FIG. 9. Both theinner fixed modesty panel and the outer drop down front panel areattached at the side seam (14). The back zipper (13) can be seen in FIG.10, which also shows the location of the over the shoulder magnetlocation with the panel closed (16).

What is claimed is:
 1. A nursing garment to be worn by a woman forbreastfeeding her baby, comprising of two magnets sewn horizontally intoa hidden fold over pocket at or near the seam. These two magnets areplaced next to each other horizontally with the − side located in thepocket that is located just over the shoulder on the garment. There aretwo + polarity magnets sewn into the front panel of the garment into ahidden pocket at the shoulder seam. These magnets fasten together tokeep the garment closed. This magnetic fastener allows the wearer of thegarment to drop the front bodice of the dress down and expose herbreast. The dress is able to stay on the wearer due to the inner panelthat is sewn to the side seam under the arm hole.
 2. An article ofbreastfeeding clothing according to claim 1 wherein said inner panel isfixed to said outer garment at the seam just under the bust, such as inan “a line” garment.
 3. An article of breastfeeding clothing accordingto claim 1 wherein said magnetic clasps are stacked vertically.
 4. Anarticle of breastfeeding clothing according to claim 1 wherein saidmagnetic clasp is a single bar.
 5. An article of breastfeeding clothingaccording to claim 1 wherein said magnetic clasps are rectangular.
 6. Anarticle of breastfeeding clothing according to claim 1 wherein only onemagnetic clasp is used.
 7. An article of breastfeeding clothingaccording to claim 1 wherein magnets are sewn in alternating polarity.8. An article of breastfeeding clothing according to claim 1 whereinsaid magnetic clasps attach at the shoulder.
 9. An article ofbreastfeeding clothing according to claim 1 wherein said magnetic claspsattach between the breasts and the collarbone.
 10. An article ofbreastfeeding clothing according to claim 1 wherein said magnetic claspsattach at the collarbone.
 11. An article of breastfeeding clothingaccording to claim 1 wherein said inner panel is a thin piece of fabricthat attaches the strap to an inseam under the wearers arm, as manynursing bras currently do.
 12. An article of breastfeeding clothingaccording to claim 1 wherein said magnetic closures are used in adifferent article of clothing, such as a shirt, romper, jumpsuit,swimsuit, sleepwear, etc to make the clothing article functional for abreastfeeding mother.
 13. An article of breastfeeding clothing accordingto claim 1 wherein said magnetic closures are attached to straps ofvarying thickness.
 14. An article of breastfeeding clothing according toclaim 1 wherein said garment is made of different fabric types such asspandex, modal, lycra, cotton, poly blend, silk, chiffon, linen, viscoseetc.
 15. An article of breastfeeding clothing according to claim 1wherein the magnetic clasp lifts from the bust to expose the breast. 16.An article of breastfeeding clothing according to claim 1 wherein themagnetic clasps are located on the side of the garment and lift to openinward.
 17. An article of breastfeeding clothing according to claim 1wherein varying magnet strengths and sizes are used.
 18. An article ofbreastfeeding clothing according to claim 1 wherein the magnets arecoated or enclosed in a PVC pouch.